Gardening on the Bayou

I have a great friend, Sally, who lives on the bayou in south Louisiana.  Sally and I taught together for many years. When I first met her, she and her husband, John, lived in Youngsville and spent their weekends at their camp in Catahoula.  They always said that when they retired, they would move to their camp to live there full time, and that is exactly where they've been now for several years. 

When I say that Sally lives on the bayou, I mean the Bayou Mercier is her back yard.  She says that if you shined a light off her back porch at night, you would see alligators' eyes reflected back at you. Across the street from her house is the Atchafalaya levee. Alligators aren't the only wildlife she enjoys.  Sally is visited every summer by her "yellow birds", prothonotary warblers. The term prothonotary refers to clerks in the Roman Catholic church whose robes were bright yellow.  Sally also has flocks of hummingbirds!  She has seven feeders and goes through ten pounds of sugar a week!!

But today we are here to enjoy Sally's unique style of decorating and gardening.  She has a flair for using items in unexpected ways.

Sally's inviting back porch with lazy rockers, a slow swing, and a cool fan. Everything you need for a peaceful afternoon.

Her flower beds hold canna lilies, coleus, roses, purple haze, hydrangea, and she says," anything that's on sale".  The plants are held in bounds by a wide brick walk that I'm sure Sally laid herself.

It can get hot down on the bayou, so Sally put in her own version of a pool.  It is a blue plastic cow trough.  John jetted it and they surrounded it with a low deck for sitting with your feet dangling in the cool water while you sip on a icy, cold beverage.  I should know, I've sat right there laughing at wild OBC tales.

 The pool is landscaped with more canas, hibiscus, day lilies, indigo, and ginger.  In the background is the sweetest little Cajun shed. Now it is really your run-of-the-mill storage shed, but Sally extended the roof and added posts to create a porch. Then she added rough wood shutters to create the illusion of windows hidden behind them.  It is the perfect Acadian backdrop to this side of her yard.

Hanging from a high branch is a fun chandelier made out of broken bird feeders, bottles, red crystals, and lights.  It lights up her whole backyard at night.

Out by the water's edge, you will find yellow and orange cannas and bouganvilla flanking the steps. 

 Sally has tomatoes growing in black buckets with stakes down by the water and although you can't see them there are antique tractor seats for sittin' and fishin'.

A statue of St. Francis  is nestled into a rock lined bed containing roses, cannas, four o'clocks, wandering jew, wildflowers, and "whatever's on sale".

A triplex birdhouse enjoys the shade of Sally's side yard.  Indigo and an invasive weed with yellow flowers fill out the beds.  Sally says she loves this "weed" and has it growing in several places in her yard.

An outdoor kitchen, a la Sally!!! What a great old stove and awesome sink stand. but the piece de resistance are those black iron skillets hanging there as pretty as a work of art! More unique ideas than you can shake a stick at!!!

Before we leave this wonderful garden on the bayou, let's take a minute to enjoy Sally's humming birds!

Love you, Sally, 

and

 thanks for sharing!!!!

Shelli

A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked.

 ~Author Unknown

A Day At The Spa

Hey, everybody!!!  It's us again....the girls!!  A lot has been going on here and we've been looking forward to sharing with ya'll!

First, our coop got a make over!  We had new flooring installed, pine shavings.  We couldn't have them at first because we didn't know the difference between flooring and food, so we had to prove to Mama that we knew what our food was and that we wouldn't be trying to eat the new flooring.  We love our pine shaving!!!! We can scratch around in them and nestle down to take a nap.  Deluxe!!!!

We also have roosting poles!  It took a while to learn to balance on them, but now they are our preferred place to sleep.  We feel like big shots when we roost!

Mama also installed a different kind of waterer.  When you  peck at this one, it dispenses a drink.  We love it!!!  It's so much fun!!

But the best part is that we have been going to the spa!!!  We all get in our white SUV that Mama calls The Laundry Basket, and off we go! 

The ride can get pretty bumpy and Mama yells a lot at these big, scary, things called Fred and Ethel. They were really scary the first time we went to the spa.  They barked and whined the entire time!! It was stressfull!  But now they have calmed down a lot.  They just lie around and keep an eye on us. 

By the way, we're not chicks anymore. We're pullets!!!!

Anyway, the Chick, Chick Spa is wonderful and we would recommend it to anyone. First of all it is big and roomy, so the first thing we do when we get there is flap our pretty new wings and fly around!  Next we enjoy pecking around in this wonderful stuff called grass.  It is cool and soft and has all kinds of nifty stuff hidden down in it like bugs and seeds and whatnot.  There's a breeze blowing at the spa in the early morning and being there is simply divine.  Mama sits in there with us sometimes and we love to sit on her bare feet and peck at her painted toe nails. 

It's great being a chick at Turkey Creek Garden, there's just one problem.  We've heard a rumor....   Four of us are going to live in Homer, La. Apparently, the coop (that's the mansion we'll move to once we feather out) is only big enough for half of us.

 But it's probably just a rumor....

Talk to ya'll later,

The Girls

I heard it through the grapevine,

Not much longer would you be mine...

-Marvin Gaye

Leslie's Cake

My mom has such a great circle of friends!  One of them is Pam, a talented artist and should-be comedian.  Smiles and laughter are her gift to everyone.  Pam's daughter-in-law is Leslie, the origin of today's recipe.  Leslie is a busy lady, raising three boys and working as a pharmacist, so this recipe is fast, easy, delicious, and one of our favorites! It probably goes by another name, but for us it has always been called...

Leslie's Cake

Ingredients:

1 Duncan Hines butter recipe Golden Cake Mix

1 box instant chocolate pudding

8 oz. sour cream

1 cup oil

1/2 cup water

4 eggs (beaten)

1 package chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Mix together dry ingredients.

2. Mix together wet ingredients.

3. Stir together dry and wet ingredients.

4. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Pour into prepared bunt pan.

6. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

***Baking tip!!  (This is so funny - me giving anyone baking tips because cooking's really not my thing. I mean I like to cook and do, but I am not a cook in the sense that many people are. Anyway, here is the tip.)

Baking always turns out better if your eggs are room temperature.  It takes a long time for eggs to get to room temperature if you just put them out on the counter.  The chance of me remembering to put my eggs out hours in advance before I start cooking is nil, so putting eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes will bring them to room temperature! Ta-da!!! You're Welcome :)

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Sunday Schoolism #13: Wealth and Power

Wealth and power are not for the benefit of those who have it, but it is entrusted to them to use in the service of others on behalf of God.

                                                                                                                       Sarah McGivern
                                                                                                                       Adult Bible Studies
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The Four Agreements

The Four Agreements

by

don Miguel Ruiz

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. 

Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. 

 Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY

Nothing others do is because of you.

What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. 

 When you are immune to the opinions of others, 

you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS

Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want.  

Communicate with others as clearly as you can

 to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama.  

With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST

Your best is going to change from moment to moment,

 it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. 

 Under any circumstance, simply do your best,

 and you will avoid self-judgment, self-abuse, and regret.

Big and Showy!!!

It's fun to have something big and showy in your garden,

 especially when it is as effortless as the Swamp Mallow.

 Hibiscus moscheutos also goes by the name of Rose Mallow or Hardy Hibiscus. 

 This easy perennial likes full sun or partial shade.

 Mine is happier in partial shade.

The Swamp Mallow blooms from mid-summer to early fall on a bush that can reach from 3-6 feet tall.  Each bloom only lasts a day reminiscent of the daylily, but cutting the stems back by 1/3 each time they bloom extends the blooming season.  Different varieties produce red, dark pink, and near white blooms.

The Swamp Mallow requires average water and prefers not to dry out completely.  Being a perennial, it will die back in the winter when you can cut the stalks back to the ground.

The Swamp Mallow - big, showy, fun!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful. 

~Jim Carrey

GFD

Now we can't let Fred and Ethel develop and inferiority complex due to new baby chicks arriving on the scene.  Today the Garden Friendly Dogs get their own update.

Fred and Ethel are now nine months old; teenagers!  Their digging has decreased tremendously, but their fighting has really escalated!  Being siblings, they have always "play fought" with each other.  From a very young age they would growl and gnash their teeth and act all "scary dog". But lately we have run out onto the porch a time or two when their fighting sounded menacing.  A little research let us know that at this age in their development, they are establishing dominance.  It is going to be facinating to see how this turns out, because while Fred is the male and one third again the size of Ethel, he is just so laid back and, as I have said before, not really the sharpest crayon in the box. Ethel may be smaller, but she is fast and smart.  This dominance thing will be very interesting!

 They nap on the cool kitchen floor every day at noon. I haven't introduced them to the chicks yet and am still doing a little research on the whole concept of dog/chicken harmony. Meanwhile, they are staying cool and just hanging out.

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Scratch a dog and you'll find a permanent job.
 ~Franklin P. Jones

Sunday Schoolism #12: Look Below

Consider our own social structures.  Especially in the United States, many of us tend to think of ourselves in comparison to those above us on the economic ladder.  We tend to look "up" wistfully toward people who have what we do not.

Instead, Amos invites us to look "below" us , at those who are more in need than we are.

                                                                                                                       Sarah McGivern
                                                                                                                       Adult Bible Studies
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Meet the Girls!

It's time to meet the girls!!

Hi! My name is Yellow Chick.  I'm looking forward to a new name 'cause this one is just so plain and I am anything but plain!! I mean, seriously, look at my new tail feathers!!! Right?! My sister and I are the only two yellow chicks in the brooder box. That's because we are Buff Orpingtons and when we grow up we are going to look like this...

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Hey! My name is Big Chick. I am really glad this is a temporary name because it has all kinds of bad connotations, but my mom says new names for all of us are in the works.  Thanks goodness!!! I'm already developing an inferiority complex because not only am I the biggest chick, but I am also the only chick in the brooder box without any new tail feathers!!!   Anyway, my sister and I are Light Brahmas and we will look like this when we grow up..... 

(Mom says we get lighter by the day!)

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Hello, my name is Racing Stripe. You can't tell it in this picture but I have a pretty distinct stripe on my back; thus the name.  I hope my new name doesn't have anything to do with my stripes, but reflects how pretty I am in the face!!  My sister and I are Golden Laced Wyandottes, a long, important name for a very important chick!!  By the way, check out my new tail feathers!! When we grow up we are going to look like this...

www.mypetchicken.com

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Hey, ya'll!  Spot Head here!  My mom calls me that because my sister and I have a spot on our heads. I guess that was restating the obvious.  Mom let me pose like this so I could show off my new tail feathers too!!  Our poor sisters, Big Chicks don't have any tail feathers yet; bless their hearts. Anyway, we are Barred Rocks and when we grow up we are going to look like this....

  

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Mom says next week the brooder box is getting a makeover and we are going to the Chick, Chick Day Spa!!!  We are all very excited and will let you know how it goes.  Until then....

Love ya'll,

The Girls

Twistin', shake it shake it shake it shake it baby
Hey we gonna loop de loop
Shake it out baby
Hey we gonna loop de la
Come on let me see ya shake your tailfeather

Come on let me see ya shake your tailfeather

"Shake Your Tailfeather" 

  Ray Charles

The Look

Everyone has their own version of "the look".  It's our favorite outfit for doing what we love.  It might be Van Gogh Starry Night yoga pants for a Saturday morning class, a well worn flannel shirt just warm enough for white perch fishing, an old T-shirt and leggings for curling up with a good book, or a pair of tennis shorts that you wear even though your wife thinks they're too short......

But the point is, everyone has those "go to" clothes that we have grown to love for a variety of reasons.  A high school football shirt from your senior year, the T-shirt from a great vacation, black leggings that have been worn to the perfect degree of softness, or sandals that are super comfortable and go with everything you own.

When it's time to get relaxed and comfy, we grab "the look" out of the closet and are good to go.

My "look" starts with a shift like my grandmother used to wear.  Some people call them a house coat. A shift is a light weight, short sleeved robe that snaps up the front and has big pockets.  I just know that every time I see one I am transported to Granny's backyard where I am helping her hang the laundry out on the line. The pockets of her shift are filled with clothespins.  She has rollers in her red hair and laughs a lot. Later she'll let my sister and me have a big bowl of vanilla ice cream with gallons of chocolate syrup poured on top.  Ah.... the shift!  

The next ingredient in my "look" is black rubber boots. When I start the day in my black rubber boots it means that I have become a dirt diggin', weed pullin', vegetable gatherin', fresh flower cuttin', recluse hiding out at Turkey Creek Garden, who gets to spend the morning readin' in a rocker on the back porch with the dogs curled up at her feet until she feels like, not has to - but feels like, going in and getting dressed to start the day.

The Look!!!!

I hope you have "a look" and get to spend a lot of time in it!!!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

“Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.” 

― Jane Austen

The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it. 

 ~Author Unknown

For fast-acting relief, try slowing down. 

 ~Lily Tomlin

To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace.  

~Milan Kundera

A Particularly Nasty Garden Culprit

Recognize this culprit?  

It is often called nut grass, but it actually isn't a grass at all.  It is a sedge - nut sedge - and it is one of the most common weeds found around the world.  Yes, in the world!!

What is the difference between a grass and a sedge?  Well, grass stems are round and hollow, while sedge stems are triangular.  This triangular shape enables the stem of nut sedge to pierce through tough landscape fabric! Sedges have thicker leaves that are arranged in groups of three at the base.

Nut sedge reproduces through rhizomes, tubers, and seeds. To control this weed manually in your garden, flowerbeds, or lawn would mean digging out an area 8-14 inches deep and 12 inches beyond the border of the infested area to remove the support system.

Spraying with glyphosate, the active ingredient in Round Up, will kill the above ground portion of the plant, but will do little to eradicate it from your yard.  There are products designed specifically for nut sedge control that will give you more success, however most articles I have read state.....

"Control of nut sedge should be viewed as a long-term process"

Well, darn!!

Love ya'll, 

Shelli 

 Weeds are nature's graffiti.

 ~Janice Maeditere

Pooping Machines!!!

Time for a chick update; those sweet little pooping machines!!!

The brooder box is set up in the dining room which I have to say makes my husband, James fairly uneasy.

I've covered the bottom of the brooder with shelf liner - the kind that has a waffle pattern.  I read that baby chicks need a slip proof surface for walking so that they don't develop spraddle leg.   The shelf liner is very easy to wash, and reuse. There is a layer of paper towels underneath. The temperature is 95 degrees and will be decreased by 5 degrees each week.  Electrolytes and probiotics have been added to their water. Lord, I hope I have done everything I am supposed to do!!!

They are so sweet!!!!  Only a couple of pasty butt issues.

It took a little while to get used to how the chicks look when they fall asleep.  They suddenly stop running around, start to sway gently back and forth, and then plop down into a round glob of chickness.

One website I visited said to add marbles to their water so they don't drown in it.  Well, that seemed a little far fetched, but I did it and was glad I did.  One of the chicks literally fell asleep with his head propped on a marble!!

They enjoy pecking at the side of the cardboard box, so I drew them a little garden to peck at.  I should have also drawn bugs to get them started early on hunting down all the harmful insects out in the real garden!!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Sunday Schoolism #11: Loving Others Well

We learn to love people who are different from us when we spend time with them and listen to them.  Knowing that loving others well is the only thing God desires for us gives us the patience to listen - patience we do not have when we are willful - when we have "better things to do".  Surrendering our will to God means getting our egos out of the way so that love and justice can flow.

                                                                                                                       Sarah McGivern
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Peep! Peep!

Well, the chicks arrived on Wednesday.  I had gotten an email from My Pet Chicken letting me know that they had shipped, then the Post Office called to let me know they had arrived. I jumped in the truck and took off!!

The postal clerk handed me this box....

that was making these sweet noises....

and when I opened the lid, this is what I saw!

Some articles I read said that some of the chicks may die in transit, but all of them were healthy and happy.

I quickly started the process of dunking their beaks into the water to get them drinking.  They took to it right away. I planned on repeating the process with their food, but before I even finished with the drinking lesson, one of the first chicks had found the food and was showing everyone how to chow down!!

Updates later!!!

Love ya'll,

Shelli

Ain't nobody here but us chickens.
--Song lyrics, Louis Jordan

Too Many Cukes!

It's that time of year when you realize you planted too many cucumbers!!!  Again!!!

The answer?  Pickles!!!

I like the ease of refrigerator bread and butter pickles. James comes in from work, pops open the lid, and eats them right out of the jar with a fork. At least, I think he uses a fork!!

 Here's the recipe I use.

BREAD AND BUTTER PICKLES

yield: About 4 cups of pickles

prep time: 3 hours

cook time: 5 minutes

total time: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS:

5½ cups (about 1½ pounds) thinly sliced pickling cucumbers
1½ tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup white vinegar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup light brown sugar
1½ teaspoons mustard seeds
½ teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1½ hours. Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl and toss with the cucumbers.

2. Combine the granulated sugar, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds and ground turmeric in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pour the hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

(Recipe adapted from RecipeGirl)